poor shifting

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paxterg

Veteran
I have Ultergra 6700 shifters and a 105 5700 rear mech. My shifting is not goog, wont go up or down smoothly. Is it time for a new cable?
 

ianrauk

Tattooed Beat Messiah
Location
Rides Ti2
It may do or maybe it just needs adjusting.

 
OP
OP
P

paxterg

Veteran
I have tried to index, just cant get it exact! Released the cable and lubed it up, works 90% for a ride or two then starts playing up again. May change the rear outer an see if that helps!
 

CanucksTraveller

Macho Business Donkey Wrestler
Location
Hertfordshire
As well as checking to see if it's all indexing correctly, give the moving parts a good lube too. Wash the bike thoroughly removing all road dirt and old oil, spray some GT85 or similar on everything, particularly the pivot points, and relube all the moving parts. If it's still performing poorly then it'll be the cable.
 

Daddy Pig

Veteran
Could be corrosion on the cable housing and cable. Undo the bolt holding the rear mech and release the cable housing from the guide and try running the cable through it. Is it smooth? Is it just one bit of housing that is the issue? Are there any signs of rust?
Also try sticking some oil on the cable and running the cable housing over it to see if that helps.
If it still feels like hard work then time to replace both parts.
 

Adam4868

Guru
Just had something similar,indexed it till I thought(something ain't right ).Then with cable of I was only getting 7 out of 10 clicks.Turns out the cable had frayed in the shifter.Bit of picking and squirting and good as new.Bit of cursing aswell,forgot to mention that !!
 

Globalti

Legendary Member
6700 is notorious for this. Like you I struggled to get it shifting well; I used to find that a new cable outer at the RD made a big difference but performance would soon deteriorate again. I think I'm right in saying that 6700 was the first of the "under the tape" cabled groupsets and I don't think Shimano had got it quite right. In the end I gave up, sold the bits and bought a new 11 speed 6800 groupset and what a difference - the shifting is crisp and the condition of the rear cable doesn't seem to affect it. I understand they achieved this by changing the cable pull ratio. The brakes are better as well. Changing the groupset is a tedious job but well worth the effort and expense - in the end, thanks to selling the old stuff I think it must have cost me around £350 - 400. It transformed the bike.
 
Location
Northampton
I suggest replacing the cables including the outer and indexing or fine tuning it during the process.
When did you last change cables?
Many recommend that it should be changed annually irrespective of the distance traveled.
If you buy cables in bulk on the internet, it is not a big deal.
Once that is done and if it is still having troubles, think of others.
 

Will Spin

Über Member
Also, check everything is tight, shifters clamped up tight onto handlebars, RD retaining bolt, hanger screws, and cassette retaining ring, plus check RD alignment.
 
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